Survey Conducted by Harris Interactive Reveals How Knowledgeable Parents are about Their Child’s Education, Their Biggest Fears about their Child’s Education, and Opinions of Their Child’s School

ORLANDO, Fla., FETC 2012 (January 23, 2012) — Despite frequent reports about the deterioration of the U.S. education system, a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive discovered that the majority of parents give their children’s schools high marks. Specific findings revealed that 79 percent of parents surveyed gave their child’s school an overall grade of “A” or “B.” The study was commissioned by leading educational technology company GlobalScholar and conducted by the custom research firm.

Harris Interactive surveyed parents of school-aged children on topics ranging from how much parents know about their child’s education and where they get their information from, to their biggest fears about their child’s education and how they would rate their child’s school on a range of areas, including the use of technology to communicate and share information. The GlobalScholar Parent Survey Report details key findings from the survey and is available online to media, educators and policy makers attending FETC 2012 at GlobalScholar’s booth (#817) or online at learn.globalscholar.com/2011parentsurvey.

Among the findings, the GlobalScholar parent survey found that parents are highly confident in their own knowledge about their child’s education. Seventy-six percent of parents surveyed said they were extremely or very knowledgeable about the subjects their child was studying, and 74 percent said they were extremely or very knowledgeable about their child’s homework.

Parents’ biggest fear about their child’s education was that their child would be under-challenged in school (22 percent). The biggest fear of parents with children in grades 9-12 was that their child would not be prepared for life after high school (34 percent). While 88 percent of parents said it was extremely or very important to get real-time information about their child’s performance in school, 70 percent of parents said that their child’s school was excellent or good at providing this information.

The report also includes survey data on how parents prefer to receive information about their child’s progress in school, what prevents parents from getting the information they need, and how valuable parents find or would find a parent portal or online gradebook.

“We conducted the survey to better understand how parents get information about their child’s education and how well parents and schools are engaged with each other to stay informed about students,” said John Lawler, president of GlobalScholar. “We were particularly glad to discover that parents were generally very pleased with their children’s schools, thanks to the heroic work of our nation’s dedicated teachers who don’t always have the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. The results of the survey were revealing and we decided to release the results because we believe the data will be useful to educators, policy makers and others devoted to improving the education each and every child receives.”

Visit GlobalScholar in booth #817 at the FETC 2012 conference held January 23 – 26, 2012, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of GlobalScholar from May 18-24, 2011 among 1,148 parents of children age 17 years or younger, 963 of whom have a child enrolled in grades K-12 in public, private or parochial school. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Mary Doize, 210.694.6720; 425.205.9760; mdoize@globalscholar.com.

About GlobalScholar

GlobalScholar (www.globalscholar.com) is a trusted provider of intelligent solutions that drive student growth and achievement. It is comprised of the education solution offerings of Scantron, GlobalScholar and Spectrum K12. Solutions from GlobalScholar empower educators, parents and students throughout the entire learning lifecycle, helping schools achieve educational excellence. The brand’s offerings provide educators with data and insights needed to advance teacher effectiveness and student performance. GlobalScholar also supports parents and students directly with online services that include tutoring and homework help for students, as well as school matching services/online school finders to help parents find the right school for their child. The brand serves 80 of the largest 100 school districts in the United States, as well as 70 countries and 15 Ministries of Education throughout the world. It partners with some of the most progressive and innovative school systems in America, including recipients of funding from the Race to the Top initiative and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scantron Corporation is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings Corp., which also owns Harland Clarke Corp. and Harland Financial Solutions, Inc.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world’s leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what’s next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.